Wilf partners stand to receive at least $106M from lawsuit, but must wait until appeal is over

Members of the Wilf family listen as Judge Deanne Wilson lists her findings against them during a court hearing in August. From left, they are Zygmunt "Zygi" Wilf, principal owner of the Minnesota Vikings; his brother, Mark, and their cousin, Leonard.Andrew Miller/ For The Star-Ledger

MORRISTOWN — Two business partners who sued the Wilf family over revenues from an apartment complex in Montville stand to receive more than $106 million, but won’t be seeing the money anytime soon.

Making final decisions in the case today, Superior Court Judge Deanne Wilson, sitting in Morristown, agreed to delay requiring the Wilfs to give the money to Josef Halpern and Ada Reichmann until their appeal of her rulings is completed.

Wilson estimated it will take three years to resolve the Wilfs’ appeal after a trial that lasted two years in a lawsuit that was filed 21 years ago.

“I can’t believe anyone is going to get through 28,000 pages of trial transcripts,” the judge said.

Wilson previously awarded $84.1 million in damages to Halpern and Reichman, along with more than $15.1 million to cover their attorneys’ fees and costs. The judge said the Wilfs, led by Minnesota Vikings principal owner Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, cheated the partners out of revenues from the 764-unit Rachel Gardens for more than 20 years.

Today, Wilson set a “post-judgment” interest rate of 2.25 percent annually for three years on those awards – meaning the Wilfs will have to pay more than $106 million if they lose their appeal.

Wilson ordered the Wilfs to post a bond that will cover that total cost, to ensure the money is there should they lose their appeal.

On Friday, the day the judge is scheduled to retire, she will issue her final order that will list the exact amount the Wilfs will have to pay, and it will come to somewhere between $106 million and $110 million.

As for the public release of the Wilfs’ net worth, something Wilson ordered but the family opposes, that may take less than three years, but it won’t happen right away.

Wilson refused a request by Wilf attorney Sheppard Guryan to delay release of the family’s net worth until the appeal is over. But she agreed to let the Wilfs file an emergency appeal of that order by Jan. 8, which will be their second appeal of her net worth disclosure order.

An appeals court last month refused to hear the Wilfs’ request not to release their net worth. However, Guryan said he is hopeful the result will be different this time, because that was an “interlocutory appeal,” a “piecemeal” motion, while this new emergency appeal is part of the family’s general appeal and may be viewed more favorably by the judges. The emergency appeal is expected to be heard by the end of January.

The Wilfs have argued that releasing their net worth, which by some estimates exceeds $1 billion, would be an invasion of their privacy, and they accused Wilson of an “anti-wealth bias.”

However, Wilson said net worths of defendants are required to be released whenever punitive damages are awarded, such as in this case, and the court must be “transparent” and not give wealthy litigants preferential treatment.

“If your view was correct, nobody would have to disclose their net worth until the appellate process is finished,” Wilson told the Wilfs’ attorneys.

Wilson, who has ruled that the partnership must be dissolved and that Rachel Gardens must be sold, refused the Wilfs’ request to delay the dissolution for the duration of the appeal.

However, as with the net worth motion, Wilson agreed to let the Wilfs file an emergency appeal to stay the dissolution by Jan. 21.

Arguing against the required sale of the complex, Bruce Snyder, a Wilf attorney, said the partnership is “functioning” properly and there is no need to end it.

Wilson disagreed, saying, “No matter what happens on appeal, these people can’t get along.”